This application is for a Training Program in the Pharmacological Sciences to support nine outstanding pre- doctoral students who will be working for a Ph.D. in the Departments of Pharmacology, Chemistry, Biochemistry &Molecular Genetics, Molecular Physiology &Biological Physics or Microbiology. Their research emphasis will be on scientific problems relevant to the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs and their mechanisms of action. The trainees will be selected primarily from among students entering the University of Virginia via the Molecular Medicine umbrella program and secondarily from students enrolled in the Medical Scientist Training Program or the Department of Chemistry who are receiving training in problems of pharmacologic relevance. The 35 faculty mentors are drawn from the Departments listed above as well as the Department of Medicine with an emphasis on individuals who collaborate with Pharmacology Department faculty. These faculty all direct robust research programs and collectively have trained hundreds of students and fellows. The academic units participating in this program are well equipped to provide state of the art re- search training in their respective disciplines. In addition, core facilities for advanced technologies such as small animal imaging, gene chip/microarrays, mass spectrometry, cell sorting, confocalimaging, computational support, etc.are available for enhancement of the research training of participating students. The goal of this Training Program is to prepare selected individuals for careers in basic research and teaching relevant to problems of pharmacologic importance.